ON-DEMAND NEWS LIKELY PART OF WEB FUTURE

In a year or two, broadcast networks will likely be making their newscasts available online so consumers can stream them anytime, said Michael Clemente, executive producer of ABC News Digital.

“Right now, our first priority is the TV product and our relationship with our affiliates,” he said. “In a year or two, when affiliate agreements are renegotiated and affiliate Web sites are more robust than now, it’s hard to think that that wall will stay up.”

Speaking at a session on “Thriving in an On-Demand News World,” at NAB New York’s RTNDA News & Technology Summit on Wednesday, Clemente added that the addition of more streamed newscasts might not be that big a deal for consumers, largely because people who get their news on the Web don’t usually want to watch whole shows. What they want, he and other panelists said, are segments.

“Technology is changing the way consumers use our content. We have so much more demand for specific clips than we do for the streaming itself. It’s all about bits and pieces.”

Ron Stitt, vice president of digital media and Internet operations at the Fox TV stations, agreed. “We need to customize the experience for each medium, offering clips online and shows on TV. It’s about giving consumers what they want.”

Stitt added that Fox affiliates do not yet have an agreement allowing their network to stream whole TV shows online.

It’s too early to say whether large numbers of consumers want to watch TV newscasts on demand on TV, said Jonathan, Leess, president and general manager of CBS Television Stations Digital Media. Comcast systems offer on-demand repeats of local CBS station newscasts, leaving them in the menu for 24 hours, he said.

Leess wouldn’t divulge any audience figures, saying: “It’s early in the experiment, and too early to say whether the numbers are positive.”

Web site Lost Remote.com has a transcript of the session here.